Tragedy in Oak Creek

We are deeply shocked, saddened and dismayed by the senseless tragedy that occurred yesterday in Oak Creek. Our prayers and sincerest wishes for healing go out to all of the victims, their families, the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, and the entire Sikh community.

We also pray for Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy, and we know full well it was because of his and Oak Creek’s swift police response that a wider tragedy was averted, and lives were most definitely saved.

The tragedy occurred at the gurdwara – or house of worship – that the temple members worked so diligently to build for themselves and their families. Many of us attend churches and other peaceful places of worship, and we simply cannot imagine such an event taking place where we pray and seek spiritual healing. It is our hope that this event can help encourage greater understanding of the Sikh faith, and that it can remind us that there are many more things that unite us than separate or divide us.

In honor of Black History Month, the City of Milwaukee website and the City Channel (Milwaukee’s government access cable channel) will again recognize influential figures in Milwaukee’s Black history .